East Timor's Closes a Chapter

Rebel Major Alfredo Reinhado is dead. His death closes a chapter in East Timor's bloody history.

Reinhado was a member of East Timor's army until he was ordered to assault strikers in 2006. Reinhado then disobeyed orders and ordered his men to protect the strikers. Then until his death Reinhado was laying low only to venture out to harass East Timorese and Australian army forces.

That is the story Reinhado like to tell anyways. While true it ignores the geographical discrimination which is tearing the troubled country apart. Reinhado and the strikers were from the western part of the country while many who run the government were from the east. Easterns pride themselves as freedom fighters who fought against the Indonesians while they accuse westerners as former collaborators. Reinhado attracted most of is support from westerners who had ligimate beef against the elite's sterotypes.

However, Reinhado "got greedy" and attempted to seize the president and launch a coup. He was killed by the military and his body has been identified. With his death perhaps easterners and westerners will have the chance to start again.